America's Couple
by rooster dawn
Summary: Summary: It’s a New Year and the new General sees what the rest of America sees. Author’s note: What is a General to do when his best team is love by all America? Author’s note 2: This is a follow up story to Number One Couple in Washington DC.
1. Chapter 1

Title: _**America's Couple**_

Author: _rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harm/Mac

Disclaimers: The characters of JAG are the property of Donald Bellisario and Bellisarius Production, Inc. Used without permission. No copyright infringement intended. May be reproduce if unchanged, author given full credit, and no financial transaction is involved.

Summary: It's a New Year and the new General sees what the rest of America sees.

_Feedback is greatly appreciated and welcomed._

Author's note: What is a General to do when his best team is love by all America?

Author's note 2: This is a follow up story to Number One Couple in Washington DC.

_part 1_

0800 hours

Wednesday

12 Jan 2005

Jag Headquarters

The General was sitting in his office enjoying a cup of coffee. For the second time in a matter of two weeks he had seen Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie in each other's arm dancing. Actually it was the third times. He was there in person the first time.

He and his wife had gone out New Year's Eve celebrating the arrival of the New Year. They had gone to a very nice place recommended by Petty Officer Coates. It had been a favorite of the previous JAG.

It was four stars in everyway possible. It had a great atmosphere, excellent food, a wide variety of wines, and dance floor with a band meant to have a good time.

Despite some of her obvious flaws that sometimes grated on his nerves, she was an excellent choice for the job she had. He was beginning to see why Admiral Cheggewidden was so high on her. If only she would stay out of his personal life and his office until he called for her.

He was surprised to see Commander Rabb and Colonel MacKenzie at such an upscale restaurant. The Commander was in his dress whites. The Colonel was in a deep burgundy gown. Her hair was done up above her head instead of behind like she wore at work.

He had to admit the Colonel was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She had poise, beauty, intellect, and she knew how to carry herself. It shouldn't have been a surprise to him when he saw so many photographers taking pictures of her and the Commander, but it did.

At times there appeared to be a feeding frenzy around them, but she didn't seemed to be aware that they were taking her picture. Then again maybe this was a common occurrence for her, maybe it was a normal part of her life any time she went out.

So maybe he shouldn't have been surprised to see pictures of her with the Commander all over the newspaper. It did surprise him though that they had made the front page of every newspaper in Washington and Baltimore. But what upset him the most was the headline

_**America's Number One Couple Bring in the New Year **_

_**as They danced the night away in Grand Style**_

He had been hesitant to let them be together in the first place. They could be a major distraction whenever they didn't agree on something, which was putting it mildly. He had heard all the stories from Turner.

They had agreed to keep their relationship quiet and not let it affect their work. So far they had been doing fine at work, but being on the front page of all the newspapers in Washington wasn't exactly his idea of keeping their relationship quiet.

He was getting a headache. No one had told him when he accepted this job that he would have to contend with the likes of MacKenzie and Rabb. They were like no one he had ever commanded before.

How in the world had Cheggewidden been able to put up with them for eight years? They were driving him nuts in the short time he had known them. MacKenzie was supposed to be this hard nosed, no nonsense, squared away marine.

What he had found in the first few months was someone who wasn't sure of herself and was more concerned about what she did over ten years ago when she was a first lieutenant. She had definitely been with these squids too long.

Rabb was another story. As tentative as the MacKenzie had been, Rabb was like a brick wall. Rabb was strong and unyielding. No matter what he threw at Rabb, it didn't faze him one iota. In fact Rabb took it as a challenge.

Rabb was someone who needed to be taken down a peg or two, but he was at a lost as to how to accomplish it. He had quizzed Turner about any weaknesses Rabb might have. He was totally useless as Turner was trying to get back in the good graces of Rabb and MacKenzie.

Coates was right about them. Rabb was indeed the heart and soul of this command. They all seem to rally around him whenever there was a need. They also seem to respond to MacKenzie. They all seem to seek her approval.

They all seem to ignore Turner. For some unknown reason he hadn't found out about yet, Turner wasn't a very likeable person. He must have had a run in with Rabb or MacKenzie. No, that couldn't be it, he went to academy with Rabb.

That meant that they were friends for life. He would have to question Coates about it later. She seemed to know everything about what was going on between the people here at headquarters. Maybe it had something to do with him being acting JAG for four months.

God! Why was it he couldn't focus when he was dealing with them? He had lost his train of thought once again. What was he thinking about? Oh yeah, MacKenzie and Rabb ability to draw attention to themselves.

He looked down on his desk at all the magazines. There were three of them lying there. Each one of them had a picture of MacKenzie and Rabb dancing cheek to cheek. Each one of them had a pictorial and several articles inside about them.

Each one had at least one picture of them kissing. He shook his head. What was he going to do? Should he do some recon work first? Should he get Coates into his office and grill her? Should he contact the SecNav and head off any trouble before it became too big?

Or should he get one of them into his office to explain what was going on? Would that be fair? Maybe he should just get both of them in here and chew them both out. He liked that idea, but he didn't think it would change anything.

He knew with his thirty plus years of experience that chewing out two people in love only caused resentment. That usually led to productivity going down. Something he didn't need right now since they were short staffed.

He decided he might as well call Coates and tell her he wanted to see MacKenzie. He might get more out her than Rabb. She still feared him a little. She was the weaker of the two or so he thought. She might give him more info.

Rabb on the other hand might get too defensive. He was pigheaded to a fault. He would fall on his sword before saying anything. He figured he wouldn't learn anything from Rabb.

He didn't want to talk to them together because they seem to be stronger together than when they were alone. He pushed his intercom button.

"Coates! Find MacKenzie and tell her I want to see her ASAP!"

"Yes Sir." replied Jen.

Jen got up out of her chair and went to see if the Colonel was in her office. The General seemed to be in one of those snitty moods of his. She wondered what it was about. Probably something anal.

The door to Mac's office was open when she arrived, but she didn't see the Colonel inside. She glanced over to the Commander's office. If the Colonel wasn't in court or her office, she was usually with the Commander.

But she didn't see either of them in the Commander's office. Maybe they were in the break room. It was early in the morning. Maybe they were getting a cup of coffee before getting started.

She walked over and heard them in the break room. She sighed as she heard them. They were bantering back and forth teasing each other. She heard Commander Turner open his mouth. Big mistake she thought.

With the Colonel and the Commander in such a good mood, Commander Turner was in trouble. The Colonel and Commander were sure to gang up on him as they always did. She wondered why Commander Turner hadn't figured it out yet.

Maybe it was his way of doing penitence while he was the acting JAG.

She gave them another minute for them to finish before walking in. She never did like interrupting officers.

"Excuse me Ma'am." interrupted Jen.

"What is it Coates?" asked Mac.

"The General would like to see you ASAP." replied Jen.

"Do you know why Coates?" asked Mac.

"I think it might have something to do with your activities with the Commander on New Year's Eve Ma'am." replied Jen.

"I should probably go with you then." suggested Harm.

"Sir, he only wants to see the Colonel. You know, marine to marine. I think he stills has difficulty dealing with squids, especially you Sir." explained Jen.

"Me? I can't imagine why?" smiled Harm.

"You mean besides the fact you tower over him, that he can't intimidate you, and you won't bend to his will." smiled Jen.

That brought out a laugh from Sturgis and Mac. Harm smiled.

"That's probably why he chose the bubblehead here for his chief of staff. He can't bully me and Mac would eventually put him in his place. Sturgis still hopes to be the JAG some day. Something I don't really care about or want." smiled Harm.

"I don't want it either if it means putting up with you Harm. Mac is the only one who can keep you in line." replied Sturgis shaking his head. Four months was enough for him.

"I better get going then. I shouldn't keep him waiting." sighed Mac.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come along with you Mac?" asked Harm.

"I'm sure Harm. Besides he already played his whole card dealing with Japan. I no longer fear the little man. I can handle him." smiled Mac.

Mac knocked on the door and waited for the command to enter.

"Come In!" ordered the General.

"Colonel MacKenzie reporting as ordered Sir." reported Mac.

"At Ease Colonel, have a seat. I have something I need to discuss with you." ordered the General.

"Yes Sir." replied Mac.

"Have you seen these?" asked the General as he slid the magazines over to Mac along with the newspapers.

"No Sir." replied Mac as she quickly scanned the magazines before a small smile appeared on her lips.

"I thought you were going to keep your relationship with the Commander below the radar Colonel. I thought you, being a Marine, would have been able to handle it. Obviously I was mistaken." express the General with a tone of disappointed.

"Are you talking about these articles about the Commander and myself?" asked Mac with interest.

"Yes Colonel. I don't understand why you were somewhere to draw this much attention to yourself. You should have stayed home." answered the General.

"I don't think that's a realistic request Sir. I mean you and your wife were at the same party. There were over a thousand people there. There are always photographers at these parties. It's not our fault that they like to focus their attention on us." replied Mac.

"Harm and I attend over twenty high profile events every year. Most of them will always be heavily covered by the media. The media have people they like to cover. And in this day and age with the war against terrorism, the military is in the news everyday." continued Mac.

"And you're what the media wants? You don't think maybe the SecNav, Pentagon officials, or high ranking Naval and Marine officers are in higher demand?" asked the General.

"When was the last time you read anything about any of them that wasn't an attack on America's policy concerning Iraq and Afghanistan Sir? Harm and I are a human interest story. They have been covering us for many years." answered Mac.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: _**America's Couple**_

Author: _rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harm/Mac

Disclaimers: The characters of JAG are the property of Donald Bellisario and Bellisarius Production, Inc. Used without permission. No copyright infringement intended. May be reproduce if unchanged, author given full credit, and no financial transaction is involved.

Summary: It's a New Year and the new General sees what the rest of America sees.

_Feedback is greatly appreciated and welcomed._

Author's note: What is a General to do when his best team is love by all America?

Author's note 2: This is a follow up story to Number One Couple in Washington DC.

_part 2_

"With your permission Sir, I need Petty Officer Coates to bring something in here to illustrate my point." requested Mac.

The General called Jen into his office.

"Yes Sir." asked Jen as she reported to the General.

"The Colonel needs you to get something for her." replied the General.

"Yes Ma'am?" asked Jen.

"Could you please get the blue cart out of my office and bring it here." ordered Mac.

"Yes Ma'am." replied Jen.

Five minutes later she was back with the cart. The General looked at it and saw ten books on the top shelf. The second and third shelves were filled with magazines. There had to be over a hundred of them there.

"What is this Colonel?" asked the General wondering what she was up to.

"This is the MacKenzie/Rabb library Sir." answered Mac.

"You have a library?" asked the General in astonishment.

"Yes Sir. Ever since the first case we worked on together, we've been headline news." replied Mac.

The General gave her a look of disbelief. If he had said something it would have been 'Yeah right.'

"Do you remember the story about the theft of the Declaration of Independence Sir?" asked Mac.

"Vaguely." he replied.

Mac handed him a magazine. On the cover was a picture of Harm hanging on one of the landing struts reaching up to Mac. The caption read 'Permission to come aboard'.

"The media took that as an invitation to be a part of our lives. They have been following us all over the world ever since. They have pictures of every possible aspect of our lives Sir. It's a part of our lives. It has been for a long time." explained Mac.

"Turn to page fifty two Sir." requested Mac.

The General perused through the article of how they recovered the document before looking up at Mac. He had also seen the picture of Harm and Mac meeting in the White House Rose Garden.

"That was only the first two days that we were together Sir. The media has been following our career ever since. Harm was a news magnet long before I ever met him, but he has become even larger and more famous after I joined him." smiled Mac.

Mac handed him another magazine. The front page had a picture of Harm saluting in his dress blues. The headline read 'Commander Rabb, Navy's Poster Boy'

"Turn to page forty one Sir." directed Mac.

The General read about Harm and some of his exploits. That he was now enjoying great success in his second career choice. It also talked about him and Mac. How they successfully root out the truth no matter where it laid.

The General shook his head as he read the article. He had taken a look at the Commander's record when he first arrived, but it only gave a few highlites.

"What's with all these magazines Colonel?" he asked.

"More of the same Sir." replied Mac.

"Just how many magazines are there in your library Colonel?" asked the General.

Mac looked over to Jen.

"Last count Sir, there was one hundred and five." replied Jen.

Again he shook his head in disbelief.

"Two years ago alone Sir, there was thirty three." added Jen.

"What?" he asked.

"It would take too long to explain Sir. It all began with our tour in Afghanistan." replied Mac.

"Since when would a naval officer be serving a tour in Afghanistan?" asked the General.

"Well the quick story is we went over there for the tribunal. We found out there was a secret terrorist threat in motion. We were assigned to assist in finding out what it was.

We traveled across Afghanistan looking for the terrorist who had stolen some nuclear waste material. During that time Harm survived stepping on a landmine. We survived a bombing run on a Taliban compound.

We survived a trip through the Afghan desert with unfriendly factions firing at us. And finally Harm saved the battle fleet by having a dirty nuke chase after his six." answered Mac.

"That's an amazing story Colonel." replied an amazed General.

"Yes Sir. They even wrote a book about it." offered Mac.

"One of these books?" he asked pointing to the books on the cart.

"Yes Sir." replied Mac.

He saw the books on the cart. There were ten of them. He picked each one up and read the title. He opened the books to see a summary of each on the first page after the title page. He whistled at some of things he read.

1. Thirty Years: In Search of the Truth

Summary: A boy loses his father on Christmas Eve 1969. Follow a journey of thirty years as a young man searches and finds the truth about his father.

2. An American Hero : Bosnia

Summary: He fought the war from above. He fought to keep the peace. He saved lives by pushing another aircraft to safety with nothing but a tail hook.

3. An American Heroine : Indonesia

Summary: During an attack on an American embassy, a Marine officer takes command, retains her cool under fire to lead an embassy full of people to safety.

4. Another Chance to Fly

Summary: After a devastating crash many years ago, a Naval Aviator relives a dream he's had since he was a child. He returns to the air to fly like his father and grandfather before him.

5. Second Careers : Aviator turn lawyer

Summary: After many years as a successful aviator, a Naval Officer succeeds in a new career. Successful aviator, now successful lawyer.

6. Butch and Sundance : American Heroes in Afghanistan

Summary: They survived landing in a minefield. They survived a bombing run and a journey across the dessert of Afghanistan. They saved the fleet from an enemy nuclear attack.

7. The Languages of Lawyers

Summary: A marine of many skills, this marine defends the American truth in eight languages.

8. The Perfect Union: Jarheads and Squids can get along

Summary: Two unlikely people thrust together make the most perfect union as they defend the American way of life.

9. A Pictorial of America's Favorite Couple

Summary: The life and times of America's favorite couple. How they live and how they play.

10. The Adventures of America's Couple

Summary: The adventures of Commander Harmon Rabb and his lady, Colonel Sarah MacKenzie as they travel the world in search of the truth.

"Each one of the books has sold at least one million copies. Some have done much better than others." smiled Mac.

"Really?" mused the General.

"May I ask which ones have done the best?" asked the General.

"The pictorial has done the best, selling almost ten million copies Sir. Butch and Sundance is also a big favorite. It has sold over seven million copies. They also like reading about our adventures Sir.

It has sold over six and a half million copies. There have been talks about doing a second volume of that book. Not all of our adventures were included in the first book." smiled Mac.

"Amazing Colonel. I can see why you're not fazed by all the coverage over the holiday weekend." nodded the General.

"The former SecNav always thought the coverage was good for the Navy.

It gave a positive light of the military during a time of controversy during the war on Terrorism.

It also showed that serving in the military was a way of life not much different than civilian life. You know Sir, it was only our day job. We had a life away from the job to go home to." explained Mac.

"Well I have to admit this wasn't something I expected. I was pretty upset when I saw the newspaper and magazine articles. But I can see now that I was wrong with my assumption.

Thank you Colonel for clearing up the matter for me. If you don't mind Colonel, I would like to keep your little library here for awhile. I would like to look through them. It might give me a better insight into you and the Commander." smiled the General.

"Yes Sir. Petty Officer Coates can return it to my office when you're finish." replied Mac.

Mac returned to her office to get some work done. An hour later Harm was knocking on her door.

"Hello beautiful, how did it go with the little man?" smirked Harm.

"You really shouldn't be saying things like that around here Harm. You don't know who might be listening. Things are finally going good for us. I don't want anything to mess it up." replied Mac with a stern look.

"I'm sorry Mac, but it's hard to resist when I have to deal with him. He's like the little French poodle. His bark is worse than his bite. They bark a lot, but there's little they can do." explained Harm.

"Pretty funny for a squid. But to answer your original question he was concerned with our exposure New Year's Eve. It seems we made all the daily newspapers and several magazines. He was pretty upset." smiled Mac.

"So how did you handle him?" asked Harm. He wondered if she used the drill sergeant approach or the educator approach.

"I showed him the MacKenzie/Rabb library." smiled Mac.

"The MacKenzie/Rabb? I thought it was the Harm and Sarah library." replied Harm.

"Maybe to our close friends, but to the world MacKenzie/Rabb sounds better." replied Mac as she gave him one of her special smiles reserved only for him. The smile that melted his heart.

"I suppose when we go into private practice that will be the name." replied Harm.

"It's better than Brumby and Brumby." smiled Mac.

"True. So what did the General have to say when he saw our little library?" asked Harm.

"He was quite impress. He's going to study the literature. He hopes it will help him understand us better." laughed Mac.

"Good luck. Maybe he can help us understand us." laughed Harm.

"See you later Marine, love you." declared Harm as he left the office.

"Love you too Squid." replied Mac smiling. She couldn't wait to get home tonight.

**_THE END_**


End file.
